Placemaking Week Comes to Chattanooga in 2019

Join activists and leaders from around the world to envision a place-led future for cities.

It may sound a bit old fashioned, but the civic pride in Chattanooga, Tennessee is infectious.

Take the Chattanooga Whiskey company. In 2011, founders Tim Piersant and Joe Ledbetter had the bright idea to revive the long tradition of whiskey distilling in Chattanooga. Unfortunately, a Prohibition-era law forbade them from doing so in Hamilton County. Instead of giving up, they started distilling whiskey in Indiana and launched a two-year grassroots campaign to change the law—Vote Whiskey!—so they could bring their operation back home. In 2015, the Tennessee Stillhouse opened its doors, selling the first legally distilled, homegrown Chattanooga whiskey in a century.

This is Chattanooga. It’s ambitious, it’s fiercely local, and it’s small enough to get everyone in a room together.

Chattanooga is a city of creators, and we pride ourselves on our reputation for building beautiful, engaging public places for people in our city. We are honored at the opportunity to share our community with our friends across the country and around the world. We want to learn how we can continue to make great places in a way that includes and represents everyone. 

— Andy Berke, Mayor of Chattanooga

That strong sense of community is just one reason that we are thrilled to announce that Project for Public Spaces’ 3rd International Placemaking Week will take place in Chattanooga, TN, USA! This year’s Placemaking Week will be held on October 1–4, 2019 in a variety of venues around the city’s downtown area. Working with our co-hosts The Innovation District of Chattanooga, we look forward to presenting an inspiring and engaging week full of hands-on conference sessions, off-site workshops and tours, and networking events.